Ethical Debate Research Articles

XII—The Ethical Problem of Evil

Abstract I introduce a distinct challenge to religious belief: the Ethical Argument from evil. By this argument, paradigmatic forms of religious practice constitutively involve failures of ethical acknowledgement with respect to the reality of evil. I show how standard discussions of the problem of evil, as a purely logical or epistemic issue, abstract away from its fundamentally ethical dimensions. Drawing on an analogy with Moore’s paradox, I argue that the Ethical Argument presents a genuine theoretical problem, not merely a practical or pastoral one: the problem of how religious devotion can be compossible with properly acknowledging the reality of evil. I further argue that, in order properly to address this problem, the philosophy of religion needs to take a phenomenological turn. To illustrate this approach, I focus on the case of thankful prayer and draw out from Kierkegaard’s writings a religious ideal of unconditional gratitude. Developing the relevant notion of a failure of ethical acknowledgement in terms of two vices—wishful self-deception and spiritualized self-absorption—I show how Kierkegaard’s account can help us to assess whether expressions of religious devotion are objectionable on these grounds.

Good deeds or exploitation?: Queer parents working for private assisted reproductive technologies companies in urban China.

This article examines the interplay of queer reproduction and private assisted reproductive technologies (ART) companies in urban China. While same-sex marriage has not gained legal recognition in mainland China and childbirth outside heterosexual marriage has been restricted, queer parents who have children through ART have gradually become visible. ART has emerged as an ideal way for Chinese queer citizens to have children, though they are not legally permitted to use ART services in domestic hospitals. Consequently, an increasing number of queer intended parents turned to underground ART businesses, with some of them becoming salespeople or business owners themselves. My ethnographic analysis comes from fieldworks conducted in Guangdong province, China, from 2018 to 2021. This paper shows that the legal and moral debates brought by queer people's use of ART are perceived differently among diverse gender and sexual groups in Chinese society. It founds that queer parents' participation in the ART industry has demonstrated the potential for queer forms of parenthood and family, while reinforcing stratified reproduction and gender inequalities. The tendency to reduce IVF/surrogacy to "womb-for-rent" business among Chinese ART businesses continues to impact queer people's reproductive and parenting rights. This paper hopes to offer insights into queer reproductive justice and reproductive technologies across the globe.

Perempuan dan Hak Asasi Manusia dalam Lensa Filsafat: Dilema Etika dan Implementasi

Human rights in the context of women through a philosophical lens brings us into deep reflection about the rights, dignity and role of women in society. In philosophy, women are considered as equal individuals to men, eliminating discrimination based on gender. The concepts of bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, and protection against violence are at the center of ethical and moral debates about women's human rights. Philosophical thinking also emphasizes that women have an active role in raising social and political awareness to achieve gender equality. This involves the moral responsibility and collective action of women in fighting for their rights. Through a philosophical lens, understanding women's human rights encourages us to see women not only as objects receiving rights, but also as subjects who are empowered to shape a more just future. Therefore, the philosophy provides a strong foundation for advocacy for gender equality and social change that is more inclusive and has equal rights to live with dignity and freedom.

Queer Economics: Same-Sex Marriage Rate vs. Economics Crisis Expectation

Marriage is not just a promise between two individuals; it serves as a bridge between two families and provides the nurturing ground for many new lives. Research studies have indicated that marriage can enhance the subjective well-being of married individuals[i]. However, beneath the weighty commitments and responsibilities, the dissolution of marriage can increase illness rates and psychological distress among divorced women. [ii]While mainstream society still upholds the social stability brought by marriage and advocates it as an indispensable part of the human lifecycle, people are actively exploring alternative romantic relationships or family models, such as cohabitation. Many individuals engage in cohabitation as a prelude to formal marriage, viewing it as an experimental version of married life, enjoying the everyday romantic relationship without the legal costs and property entanglements. [iii]This article considers cohabitation as an alternative to marriage, which can also be understood as a substitution in consumption when people are deterred from marriage due to the high costs associated with divorce. Therefore, strategies people adopt towards marriage are often influenced by changes in societal patterns and the turbulence in politics and the economy. In comparison to heterosexual couples, the dynamics of marriage are more complex for same-sex couples. Apart from the ethical debates surrounding same-sex marriage, economic models have also demonstrated that same-sex marriage poses significant secular challenges. [iv]For instance, issues like post-marriage healthcare for same-sex couples and the impact of their married status on the labor market are still subjects of debate. However, these issues primarily target the challenges and research pertaining to the identity of being a same-sex individual. Nevertheless, as members of society, same-sex couples also experience the fluctuations brought about by broader social cycles, such as the impact of economic crises. There is relatively limited research in the field on how same-sex couples respond to widespread societal crises, and the strategies employed by same-sex couples during different economic crises can effectively reflect the natural state of this community within society.[v] [i] Janice K Kiecolt-Glaser and Tamara L Newton. (2001). Marriage and Health: His and Hers. American Psychological Association. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2001-01085-002. [ii] Frederick O Lorenz et al. (2006). The Short-Term and Decade-Long Effects of Divorce on Women’s Midlife Health. American Sociological Association. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002214650604700202. [iii] Brandon G Wagner, Kate H Choi, and Philip N Cohen. (2020). Decline in Marriage Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States. Sage Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2378023120980328. [iv] DOUGLAS W ALLEN. (2006). An Economic Assessment of Same-Sex Marriage Laws. Semantic scholar. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/An-Economic-Assessment-of-Same-Sex-Marriage-Laws-Allen/513a92f3d397ae2b787094294aa465d48053ef53. [v] Malaczewska Paulina and Malaczewski Maciej. (1970, January 1). Marriage, Divorce and Coronavirus—Theoretical Analysis of the Influence of COVID-19 on Family Capital. Economics and Business Review. https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/ecobur/v8y2022i3p126-142n7.html.

Artificial Intelligence and Ethics in Healthcare: A Bibliometric Analysis

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare services has underscored the importance of ethical considerations. This development highlights the need to examine ethical implications, debates, concerns, and thoughts from diverse and broad perspectives. In this context, the study focuses on the ethical dimensions of AI in the healthcare domain. AI is increasingly being used in various healthcare applications, but this usage brings along ethical challenges. The aim of the research is to identify themes, trends, and critical points related to AI ethics in healthcare. Through literature review and bibliometric analyses, it is observed that AI ethics research in healthcare revolves around fundamental concepts such as ethics, AI, machine learning, healthcare services, and privacy. Additionally, the leading countries, authors, and institutions in the field are examined. The intensity of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the literature is steadily increasing. In conclusion, considering the potential benefits and challenges of AI use in healthcare, addressing ethical issues, ensuring data security, and enhancing transparency in AI decision processes are crucial. The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of AI ethics topics in the existing literature and guide future research.

Factores asociados a la actitud hacia la eutanasia y el aborto en estudiantes de medicina de una universidad del Perú

Introduction. The ethical debate surrounding euthanasia and abortion is relevant both in the medical and moral spheres. In the Peruvian context, these practices face legal and ethical challenges. Objective. To analyze the attitudes of medical students towards euthanasia and abortion, considering sociodemographic, academic, and religiosity variables. Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with medical students from a private university in Peru. Online questionnaires were administered to assess attitudes towards euthanasia and abortion, as well as religiosity and sociodemographic characteristics. Results. 341 participants were evaluated. Regarding attitudes towards abortion, religiosity (β = 0.314, p < 0.001), female gender (β = -0.243, p < 0.001), clinical/surgical years (β = -0,190, p < 0.001), and employment (β = 0,111, p = 0.026) were associated. As for attitudes towards euthanasia, associations were observed with religiosity (β = -0.234, p < 0.001) and female gender (β = 0.108, p = 0.042). Conclusions. The influence of religiosity and gender on medical students' attitudes towards euthanasia and abortion is highlighted. These findings have implications for medical education and ethical understanding in a context where these practices face legal and social challenges.

A Critical Introduction to the Ethics of Abortion: Understanding the Moral Arguments, written by Bernie Cantens

A Critical Introduction to the Ethics of Abortion: Understanding the Moral Arguments, written by Bernie Cantens

Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Education. The educator as ethical leader.

Technological media are evolving at great speed, and this development inevitably affects the pedagogical approach that institutions and educators implement in the classroom. The great irruption of Artificial Intelligence tools makes it necessary to reflect on the use of these applications in educational centres at all levels, from Early Childhood Education to Higher Education. These tools have enormous possibilities and applications for the improvement of learning in many aspects, but it is also necessary to analyse the ethical implications that their use may entail, and the role of the educator in this whole process. In this sense, it is proposed that the teacher should become an ethical leader, providing adequate spaces for all students to have the opportunity to achieve learning, becoming a person who inspires those around him/her, and leading the ethical debate involved in the use of these technologies, fostering a critical spirit and knowledge. The presence of the human being in the educational process cannot be doubted, due to the presence of dimensions of the human being such as the emotional or spiritual dimension, which are part of the integral development of the individual and must be nurtured.

Older women's perspectives on the ethics of persuasion in doctor-patient communication.

Public health campaigns have often used persuasive techniques to promote healthy behaviors but the use of persuasion by doctors is controversial. We sought to examine older women's perspectives. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 community-dwelling older women from the Baltimore metropolitan area. We asked whether participants thought it was ethically appropriate for doctors to try to persuade patients and explored their rationales. We probed about commonly used persuasive techniques and two example decisional contexts-stopping mammograms and moving out of one's house after multiple falls. We used qualitative thematic analysis to code the transcripts and summarized results into major themes. We found mixed views on the ethical appropriateness of persuasion (theme 1); supporters of persuasion were motivated by the potential benefit to patients' health, whereas opponents thought patients should be the ultimate decision-makers. Perspectives depended on the persuasive technique (theme 2), where emotional appeals elicited the most negative reactions while use of facts and patient stories were viewed more positively. Perspectives also varied by the decisional context (theme 3), where higher severity and certainty of harm influenced participants to be more accepting of persuasion. Participants suggested alternative communication approaches to persuasion (theme 4) that emphasized respect for patients. Our findings suggest that the type of persuasive technique and the decisional context are important considerations in the ethical debate around the use of persuasion. Limiting the use of persuasion to high-stakes decisions and using facts and patient stories rather than emotional appeals are likely more acceptable.

Mapping ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of fertility preservation.

The study examines the ethical, legal, and social implications of fertility preservation, highlighting its importance across oncofertility, elective egg freezing, and posthumous assisted reproduction, as well as its impact on transgender individuals undergoing gender-affirming surgeries. A comprehensive analysis of 600 articles, focusing on a diverse range of disciplines, including bioethics, psychology, and sociology, to explore public and healthcare professionals' knowledge, patient experiences, and regulatory constraints. The body of literature is growing, indicating increasing recognition of FP's significance. Key themes included the centrality of counseling and informed decision-making, especially in oncofertility and EEF, and ethical debates surrounding informed consent and the autonomy of involved individuals. The analysis underscored a western-centric bias in current research, emphasizing the need for more inclusive and culturally sensitive studies. The study calls for a nuanced understanding of FP, advocating for policies that consider ethical, cultural, and social dimensions. It suggests the necessity for interdisciplinary research to address identified gaps, particularly in understanding non-Western perspectives and ensuring equitable access to FP services globally. Moreover, the review emphasizes the importance of integrating patient-centric approaches and ethical frameworks to guide FP practices and policies, ensuring they respect diverse values and meet individuals' needs.

Debate: Should Parents Should Be Able to Request Non-Resuscitation for All Extremely Premature Newborn Infants?

AbstractInfants who are born extremely prematurely can survive if they receive intensive medical treatment. However, they also have a high chance of dying, and a proportion of survivors have long-term health problems and disabilities. In many parts of the world, if parents request it, an extremely premature infant can receive palliative care rather than active survival-focused care at birth. But there are variations between countries as to whether or when this is permitted. To help inform ethical debates across Asia and more widely, we present two contrasting views about parental discretion and the treatment of extremely preterm infants. In questions of this nature, disagreement and dissensus are inevitable. Differences in the outcomes of treatment, the resources available, and the values of society mean that we should not expect a uniform approach. We identify points of potential consensus and compromise despite disagreement.

Race adjustments in clinical algorithms can help correct for racial disparities in data quality

Despite ethical and historical arguments for removing race from clinical algorithms, the consequences of removal remain unclear. Here, we highlight a largely undiscussed consideration in this debate: varying data quality of input features across race groups. For example, family history of cancer is an essential predictor in cancer risk prediction algorithms but is less reliably documented for Black participants and may therefore be less predictive of cancer outcomes. Using data from the Southern Community Cohort Study, we assessed whether race adjustments could allow risk prediction models to capture varying data quality by race, focusing on colorectal cancer risk prediction. We analyzed 77,836 adults with no history of colorectal cancer at baseline. The predictive value of self-reported family history was greater for White participants than for Black participants. We compared two cancer risk prediction algorithms-a race-blind algorithm which included standard colorectal cancer risk factors but not race, and a race-adjusted algorithm which additionally included race. Relative to the race-blind algorithm, the race-adjusted algorithm improved predictive performance, as measured by goodness of fit in a likelihood ratio test (P-value: <0.001) and area under the receiving operating characteristic curve among Black participants (P-value: 0.006). Because the race-blind algorithm underpredicted risk for Black participants, the race-adjusted algorithm increased the fraction of Black participants among the predicted high-risk group, potentially increasing access to screening. More broadly, this study shows that race adjustments may be beneficial when the data quality of key predictors in clinical algorithms differs by race group.

DECODING TAMIL IDENTITY IN AI-GENERATED IMAGERY: LEVERAGING PROMPTS FOR CULTURAL CONTENT ANALYSIS

Artificial Intelligence (AI), as described by Pedro Domingo’s, encompasses technologies like machine learning and neural networks, revolutionizing industries and daily life. Cultural identity, shaped by ethnicity, nationality, language, and traditions, defines individuals and communities, influencing values and behaviours. It fosters a sense of belonging, evolving with societal changes and interactions with diverse cultures. AI's portrayal in cultural representation, spanning media, literature, and art, shapes societal perceptions and expectations of technology, ranging from utopian to dystopian visions. Cultural values and norms influence ethical debates surrounding AI, informing discussions on issues like bias and privacy. Increasingly, AI technologies are adapted to diverse cultural contexts, integrating language, customs, and values into their design to resonate with global communities.This research aims to investigate the portrayal of Tamil cultural identity in AI-generated imagery, employing prompts as a tool for nuanced content analysis. By systematically analyzing AI-generated images through specific prompts designed to capture various facets of Tamil culture, this study seeks to unveil the intricacies, biases, and nuances inherent in these representations. Through a refined analysis framework, the research endeavours to shed light on the cultural sensitivity of AI-generated imagery concerning Tamil culture, contributing to the discourse on cultural representation in artificial intelligence.

Deep disagreement across moral revolutions

Moral revolutions are rightly coming to be recognised as a philosophically interesting and historically important mode of moral change. What is less often acknowledged is that the very characteristics that make a moral change revolutionary pose a fundamental challenge to the possibility of moral progress. This is because moral revolutions are characterised by a diachronic form of deep moral disagreement: moral agents on either side of a moral revolution adopt different standards for assessing the merits of a moral argument, and according to the standards they adopt, agents on neither side of the revolution ought to accept the arguments being put forward by those on the other. This threatens to undermine the progressive status of many of our most celebrated historical examples of moral revolutions: if a moral revolution only looks progressive in light of a change in evaluative standards it itself brought about, then moral progress seems relative to a particular historical perspective; if prior to a moral revolution taking place the moral arguments in its favour fall short of the relevant standards, moral revolutions can never be the outcome of rational argumentation. This apparent relativism and irrationality sits uncomfortably alongside our common-sense intuition that the moral revolutions upon which our contemporary moral worldview rests count as genuine moral progress. In this paper, I deepen currently popular Kuhnian-inspired accounts of moral revolution by incorporating Wittgensteinian ideas from Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty. The result is an original way of thinking about deep moral disagreements, moral revolutions, and moral progress.

The moral economy of student debt: A pharmacological approach

Over the past three decades, student debt has surged in most English-speaking countries. Despite this trend, enrollment at universities has steadily risen, which testifies to the enduring appeal that higher education still exerts on middle-class individuals and families. Nevertheless, the policies responsible for this growing indebtedness have also stirred up their share of controversy. In an attempt to make sense of these debates, this article focuses mainly on the English and American cases to demonstrate how moral arguments have been put forth both in favor of and against using credit to finance education. Because it shows the ambivalent and unstable nature of the normative principles underpinning debt relations, the concept of moral economy is particularly well suited to discuss this phenomenon. On one hand, it explains how certain ethical expectations seemingly justify the need to incur debt for educational pursuits. On the other hand, it also shows why the perceived legitimacy of student debt eventually comes to be challenged. At its core lies an undecidable choice between antinomic values, as the decision to study on credit involves both a striving for personal autonomy and subjecting oneself to an exploitative relation of dependence. Recognizing this fundamental ambivalence, the article develops a ‘pharmacological approach’ to address the issue of student debt, aiming to better grasp the social and political tensions surrounding higher education in neoliberal societies.

A Scoping Review on Staff Attitudes towards the Use of Coercion in Mental Healthcare.

Attitudes of mental health professionals towards the use of coercion are highly relevant concerning its use coercion in mental healthcare, as mental health professionals have to weigh ethical arguments and decide within a legal frame in which situations to use coercion or not. Therefore, assessment of those attitudes is relevant for research in this field. A vital instrument to measure those attitudes towards the use of coercion is the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale. This scoping review aims to provide a structured overview of the advantages and limitations in the assessment of attitudes toward coercion. We conducted a scoping review in Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science, based on the PRISMA-ScR. Inclusion criteria were empirical studies on the attitudes of mental health professionals. We included 80 studies and systematically mapped data about the main results and limitations in assessing attitudes toward coercion. The main results highlighted the relevance and increased interest in staff attitudes towards coercion in mental healthcare. Still, the majority of the included studies relied on a variety of different concepts and definitions concerning attitudes. The data further indicated difficulties in developing new and adapting existing assessment instruments because of the equivocal definitions of underlying concepts. To improve the research and knowledge in this area, future studies should be based on solid theoretical foundations. We identified the need for methodological changes and standardized procedures that take into account existing evidence from attitude research in social psychology, nursing science, and other relevant research fields. This would include an update of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale based on the limitations identified in this review.

Dreier Is a Great Dad in All Possible Worlds: A Challenge to Moral Contingentism

ABSTRACT In this paper, I raise a challenge to Gideon Rosen’s defence of moral contingentism against Jamie Dreier’s moral luck argument. Dreier argues that if moral contingentism is true, acting in a morally permissible way always depends on a form of moral luck, because we could be in a descriptively identical possible world where the moral laws are different. Rosen’s response is that such a world is too remote from ours for us to count it as lucky that we are not in it. I argue that, given Rosen’s method of assessing the remoteness of possible worlds, worlds like the one Dreier describes are close enough to ours to justify his worry, and consequently that Rosen’s counterargument fails. I take this strongly counterintuitive conclusion as a reason to be optimistic that Rosen’s argument for moral contingentism can be resisted.

The coevolution of technology, markets, and culture: the challenging case of AI

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) is at the center of economic, social, political, and ethical debate. For the first time in human history, since the appearance of writing, a new type of “intelligence” is impacting the very nature of social relationships. New technologies are not only changing the operating model of markets and value chains in an accelerated way but also in how information is generated and processed, how labor, social relations, and culture evolve, etc. In this paper, we pursue two main goals. First, to set up an analytical framework in which cognitive, technical, and cultural dynamics are intertwined with the processes of deployment of economic action. Secondly, we utilize this framework to explore some key features and challenges of AI and its impact on coevolutionary processes at the cognitive, market, and cultural levels. We devote special attention to the consequences that AI may have for the concept of (economic) rationality and the formation of action plans. We conclude that AI will massively enhance agents’ spaces of action by improving efficiency and exploring new possibilities. However, AI will not change the nature of human action and the structure of the evolution of the economic system.

Over Investigation: An Ethical Debate

Over Investigation: An Ethical Debate

The EU’s Normative Dissensus on Migration: How National Identities Shaped Responses to the European Refugee Crisis

ABSTRACT During the so-called European refugee crisis of 2015–16, a ‘normative dissensus’ emerged between the EU member states located at the end of the Balkan route, Germany, Hungary, and Austria. This paper explores the roots of this normative dissensus by operationalizing post-functionalist propositions. It posits that national identity, and its domestic politicization during the late summer of 2015 generated the ‘constraining normative dissensus’ during the refugee crisis. To operationalize the link between identity, domestic politicization, and European dissensus, we employ moral-philosopher Christine Korsgaard’s concepts of ‘self-constitution’ and ‘practical identity’. We then apply this normative-constructivist approach to empirically demonstrate how the diversely constituted national identities of Germany, Austria, and Hungary led to different foundations for moral argumentation during the refugee crisis. As for the European integration process more generally, our findings highlight the importance of a shared European identity to achieve a normative consensus in areas that touch upon migration and citizenship.